Future is now for youthful Sixers backcourt

This was the 76ers' backcourt combination of the future that Doug Collins, at the start of training camp, wasn't sure would ever work.

This was second-year point guard Jrue Holiday, who basically was on the court for about half of his rookie season, and rookie Evan Turner, the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft, uncomfortable without the ball in his hands.

Collins, at that point, wasn't certain Holiday was ready to run the offense the Sixers' new coach was installing. And Turner, who almost always had the ball in his hands as he became the NCAA Player of the Year as a junior at Ohio State, was clearly more comfortable playing with Lou Williams, a natural scorer.

This has involved painstaking teaching by Collins and perhaps a natural maturation process, but the Holiday-Turner backcourt might yet have a future. Ready or not, it's here. With Andre Iguodala out for the second straight game with a strained Achilles' tendon, the kids will be making their second straight start together tonight in Oklahoma City.

"Evan is getting better and better every day," Collins was saying after practice yesterday at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "They're playing well together. A lot of that is because Evan has gotten much better off the ball. Evan has freed up Jrue a little bit to do some things out on the floor and be more aggressive. What, to me, was not a great blend at the start of training camp, right now I think those guys are playing very, very well together. And Evan's got his confidence. You can just see him; he feels good about himself. He feels really good about what he's doing and what he's bringing to this team."

Holiday, who arrived as a rookie armed with uncommon confidence, said it was less about figuring out which player was the point and which was the off-guard and more about "just playing ball," figuring each other out.

"I think it was just a matter of time," Holiday said. "It was something new to Evan. He kind of had to feel me out, I had to feel him out. Working with him is easy. People say we're the future. He's an all-around player, somebody easy to play with, on or off the ball."

The season is very young, but Collins said he likes the way the pair is progressing.

"I'm seeing Jrue and Evan grow up," Collins said. "Jrue's so much better than he was to start the year. I think he's becoming more comfortable, and Evan's a different kid."

Turner laughed and said, "For me, it's all about being able to make mistakes early on and just developing. [It's challenging] coming into a league where you're not allowed to mess up and whatnot. You have to restart your learning. It's a different type of level.

"We're learning and getting more acclimated. The big thing for me is playing off the ball and trying to figure out what's going on. When my shots go in, it's a different situation, but when it's missing, that's when people start saying it's not a good tandem. Funny how that works.

"I've just been working hard at it . . . The last few games [Holiday] definitely tried to take over a little more. He's been attacking. Once he found his rhythm, he has a lot more confidence, he's been shooting some shots and they're going in."

With Iguodala continuing to take treatment and deemed uncertain even for Friday night's game in Dallas and forward Jason Kapono away on personal business, guard Jodie Meeks has seen his role expanded and rookie forward Craig Brackins could be activated for the first time. Collins eagerly addressed the status of Meeks and Brackins.

On Meeks: "He brings a tremendous amount of energy. He understands what this is all about. What Jodie has to do is create a niche for himself in this league. He's not going to be a volume shooter in the NBA like where he was at Kentucky. He's got to come in, play with great energy and toughness and defend. He's got to be a low-mistake player; he's got to be a guy who takes good shots . . . That's what he's learning."

On Brackins: "It's so hard for young guys when you don't get a chance to play and you're practicing and you don't get a chance to dress for games. I said to him, 'You know what, if you would go back to Iowa State now you would be such a superior player to what you were a few months ago.' But guys don't see it, because they don't get a chance to get out and play, and it's hard. That's what I've been working with Craig on every day, because the young kid's got talent and we think he has a chance to really develop."

Before this season, Andre Iguodala had missed six games (all in 2006-07) in six seasons. "I've always erred on the side of caution," Doug Collins said. "I was a guy who had to deal with that as a player. People questioned whether I was hurt or not. I tried to play on two broken feet and it ended my career. [Iguodala] is going to come back when he's ready to go and he feels good. I'm sure there's a lot of wear and tear on his body from the summer [with the U.S. national team]; we're not going to rush him back. We're not going to do that. His track record says he never misses; if he's missing a game or two, then obviously he doesn't feel very well. We cannot in any way be short-term silly and set him back another 2 weeks" . . . If Oklahoma City forward Jeff Green remains out with a sprained left ankle, the Thunder will send out a starting lineup representing four countries: The United States, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; the Congo, with Serge Ibaka; Serbia, with Nenad Krstic; and Switzerland, with Thabo Sefolosha.

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